Kinshasa was a village on the south bank of the Congo when Stanley passed through in 1877. He returned in 1881 and established Leopoldville on the banks of contemporary Kintambo and Ngaliema. A post was opened upriver at Kinshasa in 1883. In 1923 Leopoldville was named the capital, comprising both Kinshasa and Leopoldville, established at Kalina (now Gombe), while "old" Leopoldville remained the capital of the Province. The Leopoldville-Kinshasa agglomeration was renamed Kinshasa in 1966.

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Saturday, November 1, 2014

In the 2000s,
this building on Ave. de l’Equateur across from the Patisserie Nouvelle was
occupied by the French petroleum company ELF.When I returned to Kinshasa in 2011 for the TASOK Reunion,
it was vacant (SeeJuly 3, 2011). Such a
prime location in the heart of Kinshasa’s original business district must have
housed something important.It
turns out it was the original Portuguese Club, the “Grémio Portugalia”.

The Gremio building in 2006 -- Ave. de l'Equateur

Portuguese
traders were an early fixture in Kinshasa.The Portuguese had been established along the Atlantic coast
since the 15th Century. Portuguese mariner Diogo Cao reached the
mouth of the Congo River in 1482 and Portuguese missionaries who followed entered
into what was initially an egalitarian relationship with the Kingdom of the
Congo.At Berlin in 1885, the
wedge of the Congo River was granted to King Leopold to give the Congo Free
State access to the sea, separating Cabinda from Angola.In 1887, Portuguese still outnumbered
Belgians in the Congo by 570 to 46.

Diogo Cao erects a monument at Shark's Point, Banana

After the
railway from Matadi reached Leopoldville in 1898 (See Jan. 23, 2011),
Portuguese shopkeepers became the predominant commercial operators, buying
African produce and selling imported goods to Europeans and Congolese
alike.In 1900, a Congo Free State
postal agent, Leon Tondeur, recorded the presence in Leopoldville (Ngaliema) of
the Mampeza company (Comptoir Commercial du Bas-Congo) and Freitas and
Barreira.As Kinshasa (Gombe)
began to develop as the commercial heart of the city (See Mar. 12, 2011),Portuguese
commercants set up shop in increasing
numbers, including Nogueira (1902), Madail (1906), Amaro & Diniz (1906), and
Pereira, etc.

The growing Portuguese
business community founded a chamber of commerce, the Grémio
Portugalia (Portuguese Guild) in 1917 under the leadership of David Diniz
and Barosso Araujo. In November 1921 the Grémio was legally registered at
Kinshasa.The previous July, on
his way through Kinshasa from Katanga, Sylvain Danse recorded the founding of
the Portuguese “cercle” on July 8, 1920 in a building constructed of galvanized
roofing.In his published book, he
reported information that the club had moved into a more substantial building.

The Gremio building under construction

During his visit
to Kinshasa In October 1922, (See Sept. 12, 2011) Belgian Minister
Carton de Wiart described a soirée held in his honor at the Grémio.The following year, journalist Chalux
attended an event honoring the anniversary of the Portuguese Republic,
recording the performance of a brilliant concert, followed by a ball.But the most fulsome witness was
Gabrielle Vassal, the spouse of the Red Cross doctor in Brazzaville.She enthused,“a few months
ago they opened their club”

“A
big well-constructed building in the centre of the town. On the ground floor is a tea-room and
billiard-rooms, on the first floor a hall with a platform at one end and great
open doors on three sides giving access to a broad veranda. It has an excellent floor and is as
cool as can be hoped for in this climate…Many enjoyable evenings have been
spent here…We go to the Grémio for the apéritif, dine with friends, and dance
the whole evening.”

The Gremio looking south from the Place de la Poste

The Gremio on Ave. Beernaert

In 1922, as
well, the Luso Sporting Club was formed, and the team competed in matches
against Belgian and UK (mostly employees of Lever Brothers) teams, including
one in February 1922 played against a Belgian team during the visit of Angolan
Governor General Norton de Mattos.Some Luso Sporting players were subsequently recruited by the other
teams and only in 1926 was the Amicale Sportive Portugaise established, which
soon became known as the Amicale Sportive de Kinshasa. Portuguese players were
aggressive, considered unsportsmanlike and were sometimes subjected to such
epithets from the sidelines as “sale nègre” or “macaque”, terms normally
reserved for Congolese.

A football match in the 1920s - the pitch was in front of Ste. Anne Church

In the 1930s the
group opened a Portuguese language school on the grounds of the Grémio.Thirty students received instruction in
the first three grades of primary school.Presumably classes were held in the Gremio facilities, which would have
been mostly vacant during the day.The Gremio provided housing for a teacher and was hoping for financial
support from the Portuguese Government, which the Director of the Banco de
Angola had promised to seek.

The Gremio in the 1930s - Note the site of Patisserie Nouvelle is vacant

The Banco de
Angola was the successor in 1926 to the Banco Nacional Ultramar, established in
1919 -- the second bank in Kinshasa after the Banque du Congo Belge opened in
1909 (See Aug. 3, 2014). It was located on Place Braconnier
across from the original railroad station where the Gallerie Albert building is
today (See. Mar. 29, 2011)

The Banco Nacional Ultramarino facing Place Braconnier

The building on
Ave. Beernaert also housed commercial space on the street level, including the Au
Modern store.The shop sold fabric,
notions and clothing, as well as a incorporating a grocery and a small restaurant.A menu in 1932 offered light meals as
well as beverages from the Brasserie de Leopoldville.

The Gremio and Au Modern on ground floor

During World War
II Portugal’s status a neutral country created issues in the colony.Portugal was a major conduit for
Belgians escaping occupied Europe to join Belgium’s lone allied outpost.In addition, the Benguela Railroad in
Angola provided a critical link in ensuring imports of fuel and exports of
strategic minerals from Katanga.However, the same flexibility allowed German agents access to Congo, and
the diamonds of Kasai, in particular.After the war, business as usual resumed.In 1947, the Casa Portuguese was founded and in 1949 the
Casa de Portugal formally replaced the Grémio.

In January 1956, the association solicited bids for
construction of the Casa Portuguese on Ave. Kasai south of Ave. de Gaulle (now Ave.
du Commerce).

In 1938, the
Portuguese Consulate was located on Ave. Tombeur (Tombalbaye) in the heart of
the Portuguese commercial district.In 1957, a new Consulate opened on Ave des Aviateurs next to the new US
Consulate (See Jan. 29,2011).

The Portuguese Embassy in 2006 -- Ave. des Aviateurs

After
Independence in 1960, the Portuguese community created a school that assured
Portuguese language instruction and curriculum for its expatriate members. The
Colégio dos Portugueses opened in 1965 off Ave. Kasai, south of Ave. du
Commerce, about the time the new TASOK campus (1966) and the Belgian School
(1968) opened.

Inauguration of the Colegio de Kinshasa

The Colegio de Kinshasa - Ave. Kasai

The Amicale
Sportive Kinoise (successor to ASK) was created in March 1968 and obtained
“personalité civile” in 1972.The
Association’s legal address was 27 Ave. Stanley, the headquarters of the
Nogueira firm, one of the leading Portuguese companies in Congo.

Amicale Sportive Kinoise letterhead - 1980s

The ASK Pool 1980s

The acquisition
of foreign-owned businesses resulting from the “Zairianization” campaign in
1973 and the “pillages” of 1992 and
1993 significantly reduced the presence of Portuguese business people in
Kinshasa.Nonetheless, in 1996,
the Portuguese community reopened the Colégio (closed since 1992) and
incrementally began to upgrade the ASK facility located in Joli Parc in Commune
Ngaliema.